Back pain can be more than “just pain.”
It makes long meetings exhausting, makes it hard to focus on your screen, and turns simple things, like sitting through a workday or driving home, into a constant negotiation with your body.
Maybe you spend most of your day at a desk, on calls, or in front of a laptop. You’ve adjusted your chair, tried a new mouse, maybe even bought a standing desk and it helps for a bit, then the pain comes back. Often right when work gets busy or stressful again.
If your back pain seems to come and go for no clear reason, you’re not imagining it. A lot of desk-based workers notice their pain flares up during intense or stressful periods, then eases off when life and work calm down. It’s easy to assume it’s just posture or sitting too long, but there’s often a deeper layer at play: the connection between stress and back pain.
Think about when your back usually flares:
- During a week of back-to-back meetings and deadlines
- When you’re juggling urgent emails, home responsibilities, and no real downtime
- After a difficult performance review or tense conversation with a manager or client
- When you’re working late, sleeping badly, and waking up already tense
Your body responds not only to how you move, but to how you feel. Constant pressure, overthinking, and long hours all affect your nervous system. When your mind is on high alert, your muscles tighten and your body braces for protection. Over time, that tension can become your “normal”, leading to chronic discomfort or recurring pain.
This doesn’t mean your pain is “all in your head,” or that a better chair would magically fix everything. It means your body and mind are constantly talking. Pain can be your body’s way of saying, “Something here needs your attention.”
Real back pain relief isn’t about forcing your body into better posture or endlessly stretching tight muscles. It’s about learning how your stress and thoughts keep your body braced and making small, doable changes that lower the threat level your body is responding to.
That is exactly what we focus on inside my Reset programmes. We explore the emotional causes of your back pain in the context of your work and life, and the physical patterns that go with them, like the way you sit, move, brace, and push through the day. Together, we help you release tension, regulate your system, and build patterns that reduce pain instead of reinforcing it.
If your back pain keeps returning even after you’ve tried new chairs, stretches, or treatments, maybe it’s time to look at it differently. Your body isn’t failing you. It’s communicating. The question is: are you ready to listen?
Ready to reset your relationship with your body and your workday?
Explore The Relief Kickstart, three 1:1 sessions offering personalised support to find relief from recurring back pain and the stress that fuels it, so you can get through your day with more ease and focus.